The Story Of A Sweet-tooth Who Hates Vanilla
by nhimcon
Summary: Because there aren't enough canon-ish MuraKuro in the fandom. Drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimers:**_ _**KnB is not mine, all rights belong to Fujimaki Tadatoshi and the publishers**_.

_**Summary:**_ Himuro is observant, Murasakibara is hopeless.

_**Note:**_ The author is crazy for writing MuraKuro in the middle of Seirin vs Rakuzan match. And she is not a native speaker. And she tried writing in-character story. Please note: _**tried**_. Also, who the heck talks in third pov. Now, if you're ok with that, please proceed reading. Thanks.

* * *

"So tired~ Practice is so troublesome. Maybe I should skip next time." Atsushi said as he opened the locker.

Himuro glanced at Atsushi and smiled. "Atsushi, if you skip, coach will be angry."

"I'll tell Masako-chin I'm sick. I can't practice if I'm sick."

Himuro chuckled. "I'd love to see how that'll go." He said. But Himuro knew he'd never get to see that, because Atsushi wouldn't skip practice. Not after they have lost to Seirin in the Winter Cup. No, even before that, Atsushi still came to practice as often as everyone did.

Himuro asked Atsushi about that once, about why he worked so hard every practice if he hated it. Atsushi said it was because he hated losing even more. That was true, but it wasn't good enough of an answer to Himuro.

Whenever Atsushi practiced, he always had this weird expression of determination mixed with anger. Himuro couldn't understand why. Until he met Taiga again.

xxxxxx

He was really surprised when he saw Taiga at that street tournament, even if his face showed as much emotion as a talented poker player in the middle of his game. Taiga reacted just like how Himuro expected, all confused and emotional. But Taiga changing one hundred and eighteen degrees after being hit and lectured by his partner was not in Himuro's prediction. The Taiga he knew would never listen to anyone in such situation. Taiga changed, Himuro noticed. And it was probably thanks to that guy next to him. But…who was he again?

When Himuro's learned the boy's name, he had this weird inkling that everything made sense then. He had heard the name Kuroko Tetsuya a few times from Atsushi, but only briefly, usually accompanied by 'I don't like him' or 'we don't get along', and the conversations wouldn't go any further than that.

Himuro called Atsushi to the game, mostly because he needed help, partly because he wanted to see what the center would do when he saw Kuroko, but Atsushi was late. Fortunately, he appeared just in time, right after when ball was thrown into the air. He apologized to Himuro, and Himuro faked annoyance to his unpunctuality but inside he was thinking 'impressive entrance Atsushi!'. With little hassle, the game continued with Atsushi on his team.

They have to go back when the rain interrupted their game. On the train, Himuro's mind was a mess thanks to Taiga. He wanted to distract himself from the matter, so he asked Atsushi about 'Kuro-chin', something like, 'You guys looked like you get along at first, then all hell broke loose. Why?' and Atsushi said something along the line of 'if only Kuro-chin stopped bringing basketball up everytime we met'.

They sat in silence for a moment, and then Atsushi suddenly said "I don't like him."

Himuro was stunned. The way Atsushi said that was different, not just idly mentioning it like he usually did with his sulky tone. Atsushi was serious, more serious than Himuro had ever seen of him. Himuro looked at him, and he saw it. He saw anger mixed with determination. He saw the expression Atsushi always wore at practice, only this time it wasn't so subtle, it was clear, it was intense, and it scared Himuro.

xxxxxx

In their match against Seirin, Taiga showed him he really did change. He was just as reckless as ever, making Himuro feel offended. But he changed. He didn't play for himself like he used to, he played for his team. That's why he was better than Himuro. That's why Himuro envied him.

Himuro was too busy being miserable that he didn't see the change in Atsushi's mood. The moment he came back to reality, the first thing he heard was Atsushi giving up. The frustration was unbearable. Himuro remembered punching, yelling, crying at Atsushi's face, and how Atsushi frowned and stood up again. At that time, he didn't know he did Atsushi a big favor.

Atsushi cried when they lost the game. Himuro wanted to cry to, but he couldn't. Somehow, Himuro was happy. Just a little bit, but he was happy. The last pass he sent to Atsushi, his mind was clear from envy and sadness, thinking about victory alone. It was the first time in a very long time that Himuro could truly enjoy playing.

Seeing Atsushi's tears, Himuro, as well as the rest of Yousen, understood something. Murasakibara loved basketball, no matter what he himself said.

But there was something that only Himuro knew.

xxxxxx

Atsushi was childish. He hated the thing he hated, he liked the things he liked. He couldn't be neutral. He didn't like basketball for that reason. His mind told him to hate the sport, but his heart said otherwise. Basketball made him confused, and so did Kuroko Tetsuya.

Himuro heard it countless times, how Atsushi despite people who keep trying even though they knew they couldn't do it. But Himuro had also heard Kuroko's name being said in a voice filled with nostalgia and longing whenever Atsushi mentioned his time at Teiko.

Atsushi didn't seem to realize his own feelings, and Himuro could only wonder when Atsushi would stop being such an idiot. Himuro guessed he should lend Atsushi a hand, and do it discreetly, too.

xxxxxx

It was April, but the weather was still a little chilly. Perfect for basketball, Himuro thought, and also perfect for a hopeless dork to come to realization. God helped Himuro when Taiga texted him that Seirin would come to Akita for the school field trip. Himuro immediately texted him back and asked for a 2-on-2. Of course Taiga agreed.

In the break, Himuro came to Atsushi's class to ask him. He ignored the stares and dreamy sighs directed at him and go straight to Atsushi's seat.

"Atsushi, do you want to play basketball this weekend?"

"Eh, but we don't have practice this week~. Take a rest, Muro-chin."

"But our opponents are Kuroko-kun and Taiga. It's a rare chance, you know."

"…No, I want to rest. You go alone, Muro-chin." Atsushi yawned and slumped on his desk.

"Suit yourself then." Himuro shrugged. "8 a.m at the basketball court near our school if you want to come."

"…"

Himuro smiled, shaking his head. He headed to the door, thinking that Atsushi was even more hopeless than he thought. Himuro didn't bother asking anyone else, because Atsushi would definitely be there anyway.

"Hopeless Atsushi." He muttered, sighing.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimers:**__** KnB characters are not mine. All rights belong to Fujimaki-sensei and the publishers.**_

_**Summary:**_ _Murasakibara happened to be good at English – Kuroko's worst subject._

_**Note:**_ _I was really surprised when I found out Murasakibara is better at studying than Momoi. Also, the recent chapters proved that Mukkun is A BIG TSUNDERE! And my AoKuro and OgiKuro feels are over-flowing!...And I'm supposed to be updating my other fics, but...Annnnd this chapter is not really a drabble, sorry... I know it's long..._

* * *

Practice ended after what seemed like an eternity to Kuroko. The club won't be having practice for the next few days (courtesy of the upcoming exams), so the regimen was cruelly doubled. It took the poor boy all of his mental strength to _**not**_ throw up and dragged himself to the shower.

When he came out, most people, including Aomine and Kise, had left already, but Kuroko knew they were waiting for him at the school gate. Murasakibara, however, hadn't. He was about to though. Kuroko didn't need to ask to know that the center took his time to finish the snacks he kept in his locker. That was good and all, because Kuroko had something to ask of him anyway.

"Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko caught up to the tall teen.

The said boy flinched, blinking dazedly at Kuroko's sudden appearance.

"Kuro-chin, you're still here~? I thought Mine-chin left already."

"I think he's waiting outside," answered Kuroko. The light and shadow duo always went home together, it's no wonder why Murasakibara asked that.

"Hmm~ Ah, you're so slow he left you~?" The boy teased, half grinning. His hand was already on top of Kuroko's head, mussing the slightly damp blue hair. He had been doing that a lot lately, Kuroko irritatedly noted. And by that, he meant both teasing and hair-ruffling

"Please stop." Kuroko said, slapping the hand away. Murasakibara just snickered back.

They made their way to the gate together.

"Murasakibara-kun, can you help me with something?" Kuroko started.

"Hmm~?" That was Murasakibara's 'what?'. He was too lazy to form a proper word, but Kuroko understood nevertheless.

"Can you please help me study English for the exam?"

"Eh~ Why?"

"Because the exam is next week and I'm horrible with English."

"No, I mean" the violetnette glanced at Kuroko as he said "why me?"

"You're the best one I know. I can't ask Akashi-kun because he's too busy already. Midorima-kun is…" Kuroko trailed off.

"What about Sacchin? Her grades are only slightly lower than me."

"Momoi-san is… I don't think I should ask her." The blunette answered, frowning slightly.

The center raised an eyebrow, but then it dawned on him.

"Right, she'll faint before you can study anything."

The shorter boy kept his silence.

"Mmn~ tutoring you huh~?" Murasakibara drawled, obviously contemplating the choices.

"I will treat you to GoriGori-kun." Kuroko tried bribing. The trick always worked, so why not?

"You don't have to bribe me you know. We're friends." Murasakibara said in a sulky tone, as if saying 'what kind of person do you take me for?'.

"Oh, is that so?" Kuroko asked back, his voice was as monotonous as ever. That ticked the taller off.

"Now that you have said that, I'll make sure the treat is worth the hard work I'll do~." He glared at Kuroko and warned teasingly.

"Please don't. I can't afford it if you eat the whole store."

"Just half of it is ok then?"

"Yes, just half of it please."

Murasakibara half-smirked and ruffled Kuroko's hair. The blunette swat his hand away, but he was smiling a little. They discussed the time and place to study as they reached the door. Aomine and Kise was waiting for them as expected, but to Kuroko's surprise, Midorima and Momoi were also there. Spotting him (or rather Murasakibara then him), Kise flashed a smile.

"Kurokocchi, Murasakibaracchi, let's go to home together!"

xxxxxxx

They agreed to study in Murasakibara's classroom after school. The first three days were good, but the fourth day,…things didn't go too well.

"Uhhh, Kuro-chin, why are we here~?" Murasakibara whined.

"To study." Kuroko stated as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.

"But why _here_?" He whined again, this time more desperately.

"Because the school is closed on Saturdays, and today is one." Then, as an after thought, Kuroko added, "If you hate the library that much, why did you agree when I asked you?"

"You texted when I was sleepy."

"No, you were sleepy when I texted. It was 8 p.m." Kuroko said, pushing the library door open. With that, Murasakibara continued to sulk.

"Even though we can go to my house~. Kuro-chin, my house is really near~."

This was actually the second time Murasakibara asked that. Kuroko sighed.

"Murasakibara-kun, I told you, I would prefer not to bother your family." The truth was, Kuroko imagined going to the other's house the first time he asked. Unfortunately, the imaginary scenario in which he was surrounded by titans did not amuse Kuroko.

They found an empty space in a secluded corner of the library. The two boys sat down and start doing their homework. Kuroko only asked Murasakibara a few times, but every time it's about choosing between past participle and present perfect. They finished the homework after twenty minutes, so Kuroko gave his homework to Murasakibara to check and took out a stack of cards to learn new words. He was almost done with letter A when Murasakibara stopped him.

"Kuro-chin, forget about new words~. You need to revise the grammar, especially about present perfect tense." He put Kuroko's homework down and look through his own bag. When he didn't found what he need, he looked at the blunette and asked.

"Kuro-chin, did you bring the grammar book?"

Kuroko shook his head. "I forgot it. The library must have them though. I'll go get it." Kuroko stood up and left to find the book.

Kuroko soon found the book he need, but it was at the upper self far above Kuroko's reach, and the stool was no where in sight. After five minutes of tiptoeing and jumping, he felt his limbs went sore. A large hand reached to the book and took it out. Kuroko grimaced. That was the only grammar book in the library!

"Kuro-chin~"

'Eh?' Kuroko turned around. Behind him stood Murasakibara, looking so amused it made Kuroko twitch in annoyance.

"Thank you, Murasakibara-kun" even though I almost reached it, Kuroko added in his mind.

"You're welcome~" His hand went to Kuroko's hair again, but the smaller boy ducked his head and turned to go back to their seats. Murasakibara followed wordlessly.

After an hour of grammar and present perfect, Kuroko slumped onto the desk. Murasakibara, who was doing his Literature homework (got to make use of the study sessions with Kuro-chin), also stop writing. But he didn't set down his pen. Instead, he used it to poke Kuroko.

"Kuro-chin, you're still alive~?"

"No, I'm dead." Kuroko's voice was muffled by the table. Murasakibara stopped poking him.

"Kuro-chin, you're terrible," he laughed. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to get them kicked out, if they weren't sitting in a secluded corner. "This thing is so simple~. I can't understand why you would have trouble with it~."

"It's simple for you, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko said, his face was still on the desk, "you're always like that, so talented. You're too talented, you can't understand how it feel to be normal. I…envy you for that."

"…Kuro-chin, you're not talking about studying anymore."

"…"

"Are you always like that? Jealous of everyone, Mine-chin, Kise-chin, Mido-chin and Aka-chin?"

"…"

"Why do you still love basketball then?"

"Why do you dislike basketball then?" Kuroko asked back in a voice so soft, it might have been a whisper.

"It's an unfair game~. People with short stature can't make easy shots like the tall ones."

"That's why we have different positions. If no one passes to you, you can't score."

"So what if someone passes to you and you still can't score? That's why I hate seeing people with no talent keep trying. They'll end up hurting themselves anyway."

"You can't just deny effort like that."

"Yes I can, and you know it."

Kuroko didn't answer.

They sat in silence for a while. Feeling a little uncomfortable, Kuroko lifted his head from the table. What met his eyes was a piercing gaze from Murasakibara. Kuroko went still for a moment. The tall teen had his cheek on his fist, his face blank, eyes half-lidded as always, but his eyebrows were furrowing a little.

They stared at each other.

Kuroko felt a little intimidated. It was the same feeling he sometimes had from Akashi. After some time, the boy finally found his voice.

"Murasakibara-kun?"

To his surprise, the violetnette shut his eyes and sighed.

"Ah, that's why I hate library~ I want snacks~" he whined.

Kuroko blinked. "I'm sorry, please bear with it. Today is the last day already."

"Nah, it's fine~. Food tastes better when I'm hungry. You're done with those, Kuro-chin?" Murasakibara eyed Kuroko's notebook.

"Yes." Kuroko handed the notebook to Murasakibara. He watched as the boys skimmed through the page, marking the wrong answers.

It was weird to see Murasakibara looked at him like that. Normally, the center looked so lazy and care-free, and sometimes his eyes glazed up with the thoughts of food. He was simple like that. Like a kid. And Kuroko liked kids. However, as far as Kuroko knew, no kid could looked so intimidating.

Murasakibara placed the notebook back to it's previous place.

"I think you can get above average score now~." He smiled.

Kuroko's eyes lidded up at that. He slightly bowed, still sitting in his chair.

"It's all thanks to you, Murasakibara-kun. I'm very grateful."

Murasakibara waved him off. "You're too formal Kuro-chin~.

They studied a little bit more and then went home together.

On their way home, Murasakibara said something in English, but Kuroko didn't understand. He glanced at Murasakibara as a silent question.

"Kuro-chin, have you read 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid?'"

"No, I haven't. I don't usually read foreign novels. Is it good?"

"It's good. It's a rea~lly popular book you know. My sister made me read it."

"I'll read it then," Kuroko promised, "why did you mention it though?"

"The quote I just said, it's in that stories~. It means 'you can't expect everyone to have the same dedication as you'"

"…I see. That book must be very meaningful. I'll definitely read it."

And thus their conversation ended.

xxxxxxx

That night, Murasakibara texted him.

_**Subject:**__** study**_

_Kuro-chin, remember to revise the past perfect tense, and also the new words in unit five and six._

Kuroko just texted him back a simple 'ok' and 'thank you'.

xxxxxxx

The exams lasted for two days. After that, club activities were allowed again. Kuro walked to the gym with sparkles around him. They weren't as much as when they won the national, but stilll bright and visible nevertheless.

Aomine choked on his spit.

"Tetsu?! What happened to you?!"

"What do you mean, Aomine-kun? Nothing happened."

The tanned player stared at his partner incredulously. He tried to open his mouth but the phantom player cut him off.

"Have you seen Murasakibara-kun?"

"He's over there. Why you ask? Huh, Tetsu?!" Kuroko used misdirection on him, Aomine bitterly realized.

"Now I know how Kise feels," Aomine muttered, "but really, what've gotten into Tetsu?"

"Murasakibara-kun!"

The said boy jolted. He turned to the blunette.

"Kuro-chin, hello~ you seem happy."

Kuroko shoved a piece of paper into Murasakibara's hand. "Please read this, Murasakibara-kun."

"Hmm~ wow, you got 85 on English~ good job Kuro-chin." The center ruffled Kuroko's hair. Surprisingly, Kuroko didn't swat his hand away. Instead, he stared at the violetnette with expectant eyes.

It didn't take too long for the tall male to realize what Kuroko wanted. He pulled his hand away from Kuroko's head. Kuroko still stared at him with those big round expectant eyes of his.

Murasakibra looked away, hand scrubbing his head.

"I guess,…effort pays off sometimes."

xxxxxxx

Momoi stomped into the gym, looking like she was about to murder someone. And she was, about to murder someone that is.

"AOMINE-KUN, KISE-KUN, COME HERE THIS INSTANCE!"

"Uhh… is Momoicchi ok?" Kise nervously asked Aomine.

"Ahh~ she's fine. We won't if we get near her though."

"Eh?"

"Oh, here she comes. Run!" And Aomine dashed off at lightning speed. Kise followed suit. He still valued his life, thank you very much.

"YOU TWO, STOP!" Momoi screamed and ran after them. "MUKKUN STOP THEM FOR ME!"

"Eh~?"

"I'LL TREAT YOU TO SNACKS!"

"Ok~" In an instance Murasakibara was in front of the two boy and blocked their way. A second later Momoi was behind them.

"Now, what did I said about not studying properly?" she smiled sweetly.

Kise blanched. Aomine just rolled his eyes, but the amount of sweat on his forehead gave him away.

Momoi dragged them away by the collar, probably to the storage room, where no one would know even if someone were slaughtered in there. Maybe a few first-years would hear the murderous scream, but no one cared to risk their life checking the damn place anyway.

"Sacchin~" Murasakibara called out "I want butter-cream flavored maiubo~…Ah~ she left. But that's ok, I have someone to treat me popsicles today~." He turned to look at Kuroko with that smug half-smirk of his.

Kuroko grimaced "Please have mercy…"


End file.
